17 January 2023

Final call: Vote now for your NHBF President and Board members

Voting is now open to elect the next NHBF President and four Board members. It's the first time these posts will be elected by the whole Membership rather than individual regions. This is your chance to have a say in the leadership of the NHBF, so please take the opportunity and make your vote count. 

You should have received an email with your Unique Voter Code, giving you access to the independent, secure voting platform. There you can see details of all the candidates' standing and their election statements and register your vote. You can vote on the AGM resolutions at the same time.

Voting will remain open until 9.00am on Monday, January 23. The new President and Board members will be formally installed at the Annual General Meeting in London the following Sunday (January 29).

If you have not received an email inviting you to vote, or if you require any assistance using the online voting site, please get in touch with Mi-Voice, the organisation managing the voting process on our behalf, on 02380 763 987 or email support@mi-voice.com.

 

Northern Ireland - Reval2023 will help to rebalance business rates

Land & Property Services (LPS) has released draft valuations of almost 75,000 businesses in Northern Ireland. Known as Reval2023, this revaluation process will result in a new non-domestic Valuation List to calculate business rate bills from April 2023.

Business ratepayers can view the new draft values for their properties online ahead of rate bills issued in the Spring. Business owners can talk to the Reval2023 team at events across Northern Ireland to find out more about what their new valuation means for them.

View the draft schedule of values at: https://valuationservices.finance-ni.gov.uk/DraftSchedule/Search 

Businesses can also appeal if they are not happy with a revaluation decision.

 

Cyber security webinar

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have teamed up to produce a video webinar to help small businesses with cybersecurity. The webinar looks at types of cyber incidents that could affect small businesses and provides useful tips on avoiding becoming a victim of cyber-attacks.

 

Campaigning for you on energy support

The Government announced the next phase of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme last week – the Energy Bills Discount Scheme from April 2023.

The reality is that the level of support will be less than half of what businesses were receiving under the previous scheme. NHBF will continue to make a case for further business support to the Government through the Spring Budget on March 15.

But how did we influence the Government to provide this additional energy support?

It's all about the evidence.

Providing evidence to Government was important in making a case for the sector. We did so in the following ways, using your input and feedback:

Collaborating with Government

We also promoted a BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) survey about energy costs on multiple NHBF communication channels and via social media. There was a reasonable response rate overall for the sector, which gave them additional information about energy usage, and the extent to which the sector was making the most of energy efficiency initiatives.

Lobbying the Minister

We also had a meeting with the new Minister responsible for the personal care sector Kevin Hollinrake MP in December to discuss current sector challenges, including high energy prices. The Minister had helpfully made the case to HM Treasury for the sector to benefit from continued energy support in the future.

The battle continues

NHBF will continue to make a case for further support for business to Government.

We are also following up with Ofgem and HM Treasury about an energy market review they are carrying out and to push them to provide further advice to businesses to help ensure that energy companies are passing on the benefits of government support and what to do, for example, if you are refused a contract.